Ian's 6th Birthday

It seems to be a pattern we are starting with birthdays, we have to celebrate them 3 times! First we celebrated on his actual birthday which wasn't totally planned. It all worked out to have Uncle Ryan and kids over, along with Gma Jean and Papa Craig who were signing paperwork on the new house. Second, Ian wanted to go to Safari Sam's and take two friends. I took Friday off from school then picked Ian, Evan, and Hank up after Kindergarten to go have lunch and play. We were the only "big" kids in the place and they had the run of the place. Finally, his third party was a family and friend pirate party with his traditional rice krispie treat cake.

Kris Graduates...again!

On Wednesday, May 4, 2011 we were able to attend a celebration in honor of Kris completing his electrician coursework. He has one more step to complete before he can get the title of journeyman- THE TEST! He should be able to test sometime this month since he just reached the required amount of apprenticeship hours. I am very happy to have my husband back and not have to share him with school anymore.

Kris likes to joke around that he has been in college long enough to be a doctor. Even though he made a career change at a tough part of our life (Ian was 1 and I was pregnant with Cole) I am soooo happy that he did!

Kris and Jason show off their certificates.
Ian and Cole are their biggest fans and give them a thumbs up.

Almost Garden Time

With the new tiller attached to the tractor the boys were ready for work today. I really couldn't tell you who had the most fun out of these three. I might have helped more with yardwork if I got to do it this way when I was Ian and Cole's age. Ian said he liked it other then the fact that he had to smell the chicken poop first (manure). We will have our garden arriving from The Garner Greenhouse in CA in about 3-weeks.

Go Pirate T-ball!

Ian at his first at-bat of t-ball 4/19/2011

Off and running! Look at the grin.

Cole is 4!!!

Cole was very happy at his 4th birthday- Monster Truck Theme at the pizza shop

Ian, Cole, and Mason(friend from pre-school) playing an intense video gameThe girls spent their time on the small merry go round (Tyler, Taylor, Macie, & Olivia, not pictured- Rowan)

Just Another Saturday

With a little bit of sunshine peeking through today we spent the day out in the yard on some projects. Kris took on the play structure and I took on the dahlia "field." The play structure is only four years old but it can barely hold the weight of the boys on the swings. Kris spent the day taking it down to beef it up and then put it back together. The boys did a great job handing Kris tools and holding the boards in place when needed. Cole really wanted to poor concrete today but it just didn't happen. Hopefully he will be just as excited when it happens tomorrow. My project started last weekend when we were at Craig and Jean's house(in-laws) helping them do some things in preparation to sell their house. Jean has a good supply of Dahlia's in her garden which would be hard to leave behind so we dug them up last weekend. Since their closing date is another month away the Dahlia's are going to be planted at our house for the year. That was my project for the day. First I had to separate them, there were some HUGE clumps and I hope I didn't ruin them all. Next, I had to find a place to put all of them...there has to be at least a hundred to plant. The space we have but preparing the area to plant is another story. We don't have the tiller for the tractor right now so I got to use the small gas tiller and boy is my body paying for it now. Ian helped me rake out the weeds and we should be ready to plant tomorrow. My project doesn't sound like an all-day event but you have to add in taking care of 3 little boys' needs...enough said.

Playdate with Cousin Griffin

AJ and his older cousin Griffin were able to have a playdate this week, just the two of them! They had all the toys to themselves and all of my attention. Griffin is one-month older then AJ so it is a lot of fun to watch them grow up together. They attend the same daycare so they get to spend a lot of time together. Before we all know it they are going to be planning against us but in the meantime they are really cute together.

"Hey, don't I know you?"

Time to eat!

AJ: "This is my favorite toy!"

Swing Time

We finally saw the sun for a few hours today. AJ loves being outside so we went out for a walk to get the mail, then it was time to play. He is such a sweet little guy and these pictures of him in the swing today just prove it.

Getting Ready for T-ball

T-ball fun at Uncle Ryan and Aunt Ashley's house. Since we don't have a yard made for t-ball Ian asked if he could bring his new gear over to play with his cousin. Ian will be starting t-ball officially in April!

Ian and Cole's California Adventure

Grandma and Papa Garner (aka my parents) picked up the boys for some California time during Spring break. A.J. and I stayed behind to keep Kris company while he worked. Kris is so close to having enough hours to take his journeyman's test in May that taking time off is not an option right now. Also, by staying behind I have A.J's baby book half done!!!
The weather in CA has been about the same as Oregon---WET! However the boys have been able to ride their bikes and play some t-ball, along with lots of Lego time with Uncle Matt. Even though I have enjoyed the down time with only having one little one to chase around, I miss them! Ian and Cole will return in time for Cole's 4th birthday on Thursday! Holy cow, 4!!!

Pulling self up/Climbling

AJ has accomplished another milestone this week: pulling himself up and climbing on things! Ian and Cole are very protective of their brother. If they think he is in "danger" they remove him from the situation right away. It is really funny! AJ is really lucky to have these two for brothers.

Facebook Break

It's that time of year again when I take a 40 day and 40 night break from Facebook. I am excited about the break and believe that it will make me blog more often. I can still share my blog with others without logging onto Facebook, but I will not be able to view what is happening in everyone else's world. If you need to reach me try e-mail or cell phone, wish me luck! Hopefully if something major happens someone will let me know.

Snow Day 2011

Well Ian finally got to have his snow day a week ago. We enjoyed some sledding and snow ball fights. Grandma and Papa Garner were in town but they stayed indoors, they are definitely from California!

Photo Updates

Ian finished his lego firetruck, 700+ pieces!

Our boys are Bear fans 'til the end.

They love each other so much

AJ is such a happy baby!

Blog Assignment

After showing my students another teachers blog and then my blog I got the idea to teach them to do it. They have been hard at work creating their blogs while learning about Europe. I wish I could take them there but for now they are just pretending to take a backpack trip around three different countries. I think they are enjoying the assignment and I have enjoyed reading them so far. I need to take a class on how to do all the neat tricks but for now they are happy with the basics. I am just trying to stay a step ahead of them but that is impossible. It is crazy how much technology they have at their fingertips! I don't want to deny them but still need to keep cell phones and ipods under control in the classroom too.

Valentine's Day 2011

WOW! What a crazy day at work, I think we should cancel school on Valentine's Day for junior high students. They do not know how to manage a sugar-high and hormones. However, Cole and Ian really enjoyed giving out valentine's to their friends. Kris and I enjoyed an early valentine's date on the 11th while the boys stayed at daycare for a parents night out fundraiser. We had a nice dinner at Tina's in Dundee where I had the BEST piece of beef tendorloin I have EVER had. Kris was a little bit jealous because mine was so good, his meal was good too. We plan on going back for sure. After dinner we really didn't know what to do with ourselves so we walked around Fred Meyer until we felt like it was a good time to get the boys. It was a nice night! We are now anticipating the arrival of my parents on Thursday. Mom will be staying for a week and dad will be staying for 2-weeks, which means free daycare!

Once a month...

I am trying to sneak in a quick post before the month of January is over. If I can get on here once a month I will be happy. Kris is away for the weekend visiting his friend Nathan in Idaho. The boys and I enjoyed seeing the SUN today so we made our way to the park for some much needed play time. Now everyone is resting up so we can attend the Dundee Elementary School carnival tonight.
I had the opportunity to help set-up for the carnival last night. I haven't been able to volunteer in the Kindergarten class yet so I enjoyed getting to help with the set-up. I really wish the economy was better and child care was less expensive so I could work part-time then volunteer at the school. Only 5 more years and all the boys will be in school!

Not a blogger

My last post asked what happened to October, well now I am asking what happened to November and December. Looks like blogging is not my cup of tea. We are all happy and healthy so that about sums everything up. Here is a picture of Kris and I!!! We had a night out for my staff Christmas party at DePonte Cellars in Dundee. Papa Craig watched the boys for us and had an easy time since AJ slept the whole time. My goal for the new year is for us to go out at least once a month, even though our main topic when we are away is the kids.

We are officially on Winter break which means I get lots of time with the boys. They are so much fun right now and all enjoy different things. I need to get back to Christmas cards so hopefully I will post again before January is upon us.

What happened to October?

Wow, my last post was on September 19th! Only excuse I can come up with is I am a working mother of 3 boys and Kris goes to school. To recap the month of October it would take a while so I will hit the highlights.

Ian is enjoying kindergarten and learns so much everday. He has been playing soccer every Thursday and Saturday. He went as Optimus Primer for Halloween this year. Cole loves being back at the YMCA daycare and enjoyed playing soccer on Saturdays. He was Batman for Halloween. A.J. is 4-months old already and enjoys to sleep! He was a baby skeleton for Halloween. More to come later....

Kindergarten

Where have the last 5 years gone? How can we have a kindergartner already? The pictures below show Ian on his first day at Dundee Elementary School. He was very excited, but Cole was very sad. Ian and Cole have not been a part from each other very often in the 3 years Cole has been around. So when Ian was going to a different school then Cole he had a tough time, but he had some special bonding time with Papa Steve for a couple days. Ian loves riding the bus!YMCA mini bus takes him to school and then picks him up when AM kinder is over. Then he gets to hang out with his brothers and cousins the rest of the day. It has been fun watching him learn so much already and his handwriting is getting pretty good too!